Under the Mask
by xosnapshot
Summary: It is their 7th year at Hogwarts. Voldemort has been defeated. A Masquerade ball is held and Hermione ends up dancing with a mysterious wizard. DracoHemione some HarryGinny. Please R&R! Better than summary
1. Back to School

Back to School…

Disclaimer: I know I forgot to put it on my other story… but obviously I don't own Harry Potter or anything related, except the plot in this story.

**(A/N Hi. Ok I hope you like this story; I'll try to make it not _too_ much of a cliché… Suggestions are helpful and reviews appreciated. Thanks!) **

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. SLAM. Hermione woke up to the sound of the alarm clock and involuntarily hit it. What a way to start the day. She pulled herself out of bed and stumbled over to her trunk to get her robes. Groggily, she put them on and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

It was the first week back at Hogwarts for her 7th year. Voldemort had been defeated by Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione during the summer and the Deatheaters were locked away in Azkaban. Their new Headmaster, or in this case Headmistress, was Professor McGonagall. They also had a new Potions Master after Snape ran off with Voldemort and was put in Azkaban. Her name was Lucille Jennings and was surprisingly young; only 27. The male population thought she was the best thing that happened to Hogwarts. Professor Jennings and the Headmistress strode into breakfast talking amiably. After all, Lucille was McGonagall's granddaughter.

Hermione sat down next to Ginny and Ron. As usual, the boys were focused on eating and Ginny looked extremely bored. "'Morning Hermione," She said happily.

"Good morning Gin," Hermione said as she took a delicious-looking cinnamon roll of the platter and put it on her plate. "Are you signed up for any exciting classes this year?"

"No not really. What about you, which are you taking?" Hermione proceeded to tell her every class she was taking and what it involved. Ginny was not particularly enthralled by the conversation. "Wait, that's too many classes, how will that work?"

"Well, I've decided to check out the books and teach myself a couple of the courses. Won't that be exciting?"

"Yeah, if you enjoy having no time to do anything else for the rest of the year…" Ginny said and trailed off. Hermione just ate her cinnamon roll and sipped her hot chocolate that had magically appeared in her cup.

After breakfast, they all headed to their fist class. "_Oh well this should be fun, double potions with the Slytherins,_" Hermione thought grudgingly. The only thing that made Potions bearable was that there was no more Snape to be unfair to the Gryffindors.

Hermione walked into the classroom and sat next to Draco Malfoy. Professor Jennings believed in seating charts, so she was stuck with the arrogant Slytherin.

"Hello class," Professor Jennings said and the students silenced. "Today we will be making a very powerful potion. It is called Unsichtbar, which causes the drinker to become invisible to everyone around them for two hours. The ingredients and directions are on the board."

"Get them, Mudblood," Draco said as Jennings concluded.

"Mr. Malfoy, fifteen points from Slytherin and detention for a week. Now get back to your potion," she said. Draco was in shock, never had he been given detention in potions, this was outrageous!

Hermione smiled. "I think you should go get them, Malfoy." Draco grumbled to himself and got the ingredients. He put his hand in the jar of dragon tongues and pulled one out, almost gagging. Next, he picked up the body of a decapitated rat. He put them on a tray before retrieving a spoonful of ogre saliva and putting it in a cup. Draco collected the vials of parsley, pepper, sawdust, unicorn blood, and pollen. Finally, he grabbed the last item, four human eyeballs, and quickly deposited them on the tray. The blonde Slytherin stalked back to Hermione.

"Here you go, Mudblood," he spat.

"Mister Malfoy," the Professor drawled, "that will be another twenty points from your house. You might want to consider what you say before you lose all your house points." All the Slytherins glared at him.

"You know Malfoy, the same insult for seven years is pathetic. Can't you think of something new?" Hermione asked while preparing the cauldron. Draco ignored her.

They were brewing their potions and it was time to put the pollen in. Neville was walking back to his partner with the top off and tripped over the tile of the dungeon floor. It looked like it was in slow motion; it flew right onto Malfoy's face and sent him into a fit of sneezes. Apparently he was allergic to pollen. Hermione found this very funny, as did the rest of the Gryffindors. The Slytherins weren't amused.

"Miss Granger, please escort Mister Malfoy to the hospital wing and see if they can fix his," the professor paused, "problem." The class laughed, including some of the Slytherins. "Mister Zabini, please refrain from disturbing the class. That will be five points from your house." The Gryffindors loved this. After six years of the Slytherins being favored by Snape, they were finally getting what they deserved. They stored their potions and let the boil for the next two days and continued them. There were no particular incidents that followed; they had learned that this teacher wasn't going to let the Slytherins get away with things like they were used to.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione were in a particularly good mood for the rest of the week. They hoped the favoring would continue, and it did.

About a month later, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were all sitting in the Common Room working on homework. Harry seemed fidgety and nobody knew why. He suddenly got up, dragging Ginny with him. She looked confused. Harry led her to the Room of Requirement and they stepped inside. It was a small, cozy room with a cackling fireplace in the middle. There was a squishy couch in front of it. They sat down awkwardly.

"Ginny, I can't stand it anymore. I still love you. Now that Voldemort is gone, I would really like it if you were my girlfriend, if you still wanted me that is," Harry said, trailing off.

Ginny sighed. "Harry, I'm really sorry, but…" Harry looked heartbroken. "Actually, I was just kidding. I would really like to be your girlfriend, and I've missed you," she said laughing. Harry seemed extremely relieved. "I think we should go back and finish our homework; I have an essay to write that could take me all night."

They interlocked fingers and went back. Their friends were surprised, but happy. Harry wanted it to be a complete surprise so nobody knew about him asking Ginny out. Soon it was dinner time. They headed down to the Great Hall and waited for the food to appear on the platters. Headmistress McGonagall stood up and asked for silence.

"As many of you know, we will be having a Halloween feast in a week. But what you don't know is that at the end of November, we will be having an Autumn Masquerade Ball. It will be for fourth years and above. Everyone will be required to have a mask. We have planned a trip to Hogsmeade in three weeks for you to get your ball attire. I am expecting good behavior," she said, looking at the Slytherins.

The girls were talking amongst themselves. They were excited for it. The boys? Not so much. Hermione groaned; there would be talk of nothing else for the next month…

**(A/N Like it? Hate it? Suggestions? Please review! Until next time…0.Black.Roses.0)**


	2. In Preparation for

In Preparation For…

(A/N Thanks to everybody who reviewed. They are greatly appreciated. I hope you guys like this chapter, I had fun writing it! Please review. Enjoy!)

Sure enough, Hermione was right. The talk of dresses, and masks, and dates, and everything concerning the ball was the only thing on people's mind. Nobody talked about how hard homework was or which teachers were being mean. This ball was consuming everyone. Hermione had no idea why, really. It just seemed like a regular thing to her.

The Halloween Feast turned out to be wonderful. There were many different foods. They had candied apples bowls full of candy. Ron and Harry were in heaven. Ron was so sugar high he could barley walk straight.

"Up you go," Hermione said, leading him back to his dormitory. "I think it's time you went to sleep now." Ron just grumbled.

The next morning Hermione was down in the common room reading when Ron came down the stairs. He was rubbing his head in pain.

"Bloody headache," he mumbled.

"Next time I would advise not eating so much candy, Ronald," Hermione told him. He just nodded.

The next two weeks passed almost normally, except for Malfoy constantly teasing Hermione and getting on her nerves. Come to think of it, that was normal.

The Hogsmeade trip was the following day, which made everyone increasingly excited. She had decided that she would go and probably go but sit most of the time. To everyone's great joy, it was time for the shopping.

"Hermione, I have decided to take you under my wing, so to speak. I am going to find you a stunning dress and mask to go along with it," Ginny told her matter-of-factly. In the last couple of years, she had really matured. She was no longer the gangly, awkward red-head that she used to be. Now she was stylish, hip, and gorgeous. Hermione hadn't really changed; she was still the know-it-all bookworm.

They headed towards the first of the dress shops. They entered Madame Molly's Boutique. "Oh," Ginny squealed, rushing over to a neon pink, extremely short, low cut dress. She brought it over and pushed it into Hermione's hands and into a dressing room. Hermione breathed in a huge sigh and tried it on. It actually didn't look bad. In fact, it looked very good. But it was something that was entirely inappropriate for a ball and something Hermione would never be caught dead in.

"Sorry Gin, it doesn't fit," she lied.

"Oh well, there will be other dresses." Hermione was in the dressing room, waiting for Ginny to hand her the next dress she was to try on. "Oh my gosh Hermione, you have to try this one on," she told her, handing over a medium length tube top dress. And so it continued. Ginny would hand over a dress, Hermione would find something wrong with it, and it would be cast aside.

Ginny had already found a dress. It was light purple with a modest neckline. It went to about her knees and flowed nicely.

"Hermione, I told Harry I would meet him at the Three Broomsticks at three, so I need to be getting to him. But you are going to find a dress, and then you can meet up with us. Sound good?" Ginny asked. Hermione nodded, not knowing where to begin as far as dresses. She started walking around the shop. There was nothing there that she really thought would be right for the ball.

"_I don't even know why it matters, it's not like I'm trying to impress anybody or anything_," Hermione thought to herself. But deep down, she was. Nobody in particular, but she did want guys to know that she did want _some_ sort of relationship with _somebody_. It made her sad to know that males would only think of her as a bookworm who could help them with their homework. She was determined to find something that would make her look unrecognizable.

Hermione walked into another dress shop, Something for Every Occasion. It was a large shop. There were indeed dresses and robes for every need. She put her hand up and touched all of the fabrics. There were soft ones, course ones, smooth ones, itchy ones, and silky ones. Hermione glanced around the room, and then she took another look at a specific dress. It was sea foam green. The dress had medium width straps and the back was corset style with strings tying it. The front was a lower cut u-shaped neckline. It was snug on the chest and hips, and then cascaded elegantly down to the floor. This was the one. Hermione went to the register and paid for the dress.

She still needed a mask. The brunette walked around Hogsmeade, not knowing where to go. Hermione saw a mask store and walked inside. There were so many. One caught her eye immediately. It was a smaller mask, almost in a figure eight shape. For the most part, it was silver, but had black accent parts and black stones on it. Hermione was almost through. All she needed now was shoes and something shiny.

After some searching, Hermione had found the perfect high heels. They were silver with tie-up strings. Next, she went to the jewelry store.

"Can I help you find anything?" an old man who worked there asked.

"Actually, that would be great. I'm looking for a necklace with a pendant of diamond. Do you happen to have any?" she replied. The old man smiled with a glint of happiness in his eyes.

"Right this way," he said, leading her to a circular display rack. Hermione knew right away which one she wanted. It was on a silver chain, and the pendant was slightly S-shaped. It was beautiful.

"I'll take this one," she said, handing the necklace over.

"Ah and a discount for the lovely lady, 50 percent off!" he said looking excited.

"Thank you so much," Hermione said, handing the money over.

"_Things are finally starting to work out_," she thought joyously. But the mood wasn't going to last long, for as she stepped out of the store, Malfoy advanced on her.

"Mudblood," he spat, "who would want to take _you_ to the ball, with your ugly hair, know-it-all attitude, and chubby legs." His whole gang laughed. Hermione didn't have anything wrong with her legs, but was very self-conscious of them. Malfoy knew this and took advantage of her.

Him and his friends just walked by her after that. Hermione was close to tears. He had pointed out all her flaws and embarrassed her. She would get him. The witch muttered a spell under her breath and pointed her wand at the back of his head. With a squeal, Malfoy was back to his ferret self. Hermione laughed and walked back to the Three Broomsticks.

"Hermione, you look flushed, what's wrong?" Ginny said when she sat down with her friends. Hermione recounted the incident with Malfoy. They all started cracking up when they heard what she did in retaliation.

"Nice one Hermione!" Harry told her. They talked for a while, then decided to head back to Hogwarts.

"Hermione let me see what you got!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Nope, I'm not going to show you," she said in a sing-song voice. "You'll have to wait until the ball; I want it to be a surprise." Ginny protested but Hermione stood strong and wouldn't let her see it. Now that she had her dress and things for the dance, she was actually looking forward to it.

The next day, Hermione headed off to Potions with the Slytherins. This was now one of her favorite classes. The Gryffindors were favored and Professor Jennings didn't like the Slytherins, so she punished them easily. The only downfall was hat Hermione still had to sit next to Malfoy. He would still tease her and make her do all the work, but he was cautious Jennings didn't see or hear him. His ego was still trying to recover from being turned to a ferret the previous day.

"So how was life as a ferret, again, Malfoy?" Hermione asked sweetly.

"Just bloody wonderful. It took Madam Pomphry three hours how to cure me, thanks to you," he said grimly. She smiled and laughed at him. Revenge, sweet, sweet revenge…

The ball was coming up on everybody very quickly. It seemed like they still had two weeks, but soon enough, it was just days away.


	3. The Nicest Stars in the Skies

The Nicest Stars in the Skies are the Ones that Sparkle in Your Eyes…

(A/N Wow it's been a while since I updated…Well here you go! Enjoy & Review!)

Time sure does fly by when you let it. Suddenly, the Masquerade Ball was just days away. Everyone was anxiously awaiting the night of the ball. Harry was taking Ginny to the ball, but Hermione didn't have a date. This made her sad, but she decided that she would not let the lack of boys ruin her night. Anyways, there would be other boys at the dance. Hermione had many classes she was taking, but as usual, she was on top of it and ahead of everyone else.

"Hermione!" Ginny called down the corridor. It was the night before the Masquerade and everyone was indeed excited, Ginny included. "Do you want to do something tonight? After all, it is Friday!"

Hermione was tired from her full week, and had some catch-up reading to do. "Not tonight, Gin, I'm really tired. Why don't you spend the evening with Harry and cuddle by the fire or something?" Hermione suggested. Ginny looked a little disappointed, but agreed. Hermione returned to her dormitory and read for a while. At about one in the morning, she became restless. Hermione ventured out of bed and slowly walked down the corridors. She walked aimlessly and ended up in a walkway somewhere near the dungeons. Suddenly, Hermione felt cold. There was a cool breeze coming from all directions. She turned around and was facing a wall. She turned back the way she was facing and was looking at a wall that had not been there before. Every way she looked, there were walls. Hermione was spinning in circles, with her wand out. She tried everything, but there was no effect. Suddenly, she fell to the ground, the cold floor pressing against her face.

"Mudblood, what in bloody hell are you doing down here?" Hermione woke to a sharp pain in her side from being kicked and opened her eyes. Draco Malfoy was standing over her, looking at her with a loathsome look in his eyes. She picked herself off the floor and looked around. There was a normal amount of walls, two on either side of her extending down the long corridor. Hermione was now fully confused. She walked in a daze back to her dormitory and collapsed into bed. She woke a few hours later and was groggy the rest of the afternoon.

The Masquerade Ball was to be held at seven in the Great Hall. By four o'clock, Ginny was freaking out. "I'll never be ready in time!" she said in a frenzy.

"Gin, first of all, calm down. It's ok. No matter what, you will look beautiful. Secondly, Harry will love you no matter what, so there is nothing to worry about. After all, it's just a dance," Hermione told her reassuringly. "Now, just take a deep breath and you'll be fine." Ginny took a big breath of cool air from the window and let it out in a big sigh.

"Ok. So all I need to do now is my hair, make-up, and get dressed. I can do that in two and a half hours. Really, I can. Ok. Go." Ginny had begun talking to herself and making a list of what she had left to do. Hermione let her be and started to get ready herself. She got in the steamy shower and began her routine. First, she shampooed and conditioned her hair with anti-frizzy product. Then, she meticulously shaved her legs, making sure not to miss a spot. Finally, she scrubbed her face to get the remnants of yesterday's make-up off so she had a clean palate for tonight. Hermione wrapped a towel around herself and returned to her room. She put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt for getting ready in. Hermione used a flat-iron on her hair until it was perfectly straight. She used her wand and changed her bangs. The young witch made them medium length and swept them across her face to the left. She also used her wand to give her hair more golden-brown highlights. Her hair was now sleek, shiny, and straight. Now on to her make-up. Hermione carefully put on her foundation and swept blush up her cheeks. She took her curler and crimped her eyelashes. Carefully, Hermione put on her mascara. Then she took dark gray liner and lined the inner rims of her eyes. She finished her eyes with sea foam green eye shadow to match her dress, with a hint of silver. Last, but not least, she put on medium dark lipstick and put on shiny lip gloss. She carefully slipped into her sea foam dress and tied the strings tightly in the back. The young lady put on her silver shoes and tied the strings up her legs. Hermione walked to her dresser and pulled out the S-shaped necklace and placed it around her neck. She was about to walk out to meet Ginny in the Common Room when she realized that she had forgotten her mask. She fished through her bag and found it. The witch carefully placed the mask over her face and walked down the stairs.

"Ginny you look great!" she exclaimed as she saw her friend. Ginny was wearing the light purple dress and high stilettos and her hair was curled and was everywhere.

"Thanks!" she said politely, not realizing that it was Hermione talking to her. When she came over and hugged her, she realized who it was. "Oh my gosh! I didn't even realize that was you, Hermione!" she said as she looked her over again. "You look gorgeous," she said as she hugged her again. Hermione beamed.

"Thank you Ginny!" Hermione looked over and saw Harry standing next to her in a full tuxedo and a purple tie. The couple matched perfectly and looked great together. This made Hermione's heart pang. She had no one to stand next to for photographs or match. But she was determined to have fun all the same. "Harry you look so handsome!"

"Doesn't he?" Ginny giggled as she pulled admiringly on his tie. She looked up at him and smiled as he leaned down and kissed her. Hermione had to look away so she didn't get emotional. The three of them headed down to the Great Hall where the Ball was to be held. Hermione felt like a third wheel as the couple walked elegantly arm-in-arm, but she was still happy that they were together. They proceeded to the tables where they would eat dinner. Ron was also going by himself, so Hermione didn't feel so alone. They met up with him in the Great Hall. He looked Hermione up and down and smiled. He didn't even recognize her.

"And who would this dashing lady be?" he inquired.

"Ronald Weasley! It's me, Hermione!" He was shocked, but soon moved on as they began dinner. There were massive amounts of food. So naturally, Ron was in Heaven. They ate their way through all the courses and finally it was time to dance. The tables and chairs were cleared away by Headmistress McGonagall and the band started playing music. Harry and Ginny left Hermione saying that they would be back in a few songs. She bid them farewell and watched the happy couple dance.

"May I have this dance?" Hermione heard behind her. She turned around and Ron had his arm extended toward her. She nodded and curtsied. They went onto the dance floor and began dancing.

"You have been practicing, haven't you," Hermione remarked. He no longer tripped her or stepped on her feet. He blushed crimson immediately. They danced a couple more songs, but then Hermione decided to take a break. She went over to the punch bowl and poured herself a cup of juice.

"What is the most beautiful girl here doing here by herself?" Hermione turned around. There was a tall young man standing close to her from behind. He had long blonde hair that swept across his face and over his left eye. His deep gray eyes were familiar, but she could not place where she had seen them before. He was wearing a nice black suit with an emerald green tie. He was very handsome, she had to admit. She smiled warmly at him as he led her onto the dance floor. The band began playing a slow song. The mystery man wrapped his arms gently around Hermione's waist, while she wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked at his face, which was covered by a black and white mask. Hermione looked at his stone-like gray eyes, trying to figure out where she had seen them before. The boy looked down at her, staring into her hazel brown eyes.

"Let me ask you a question," he said and Hermione nodded. "Have you always been at Hogwarts? Because you think I would have noticed the most beautiful girl before." She nodded and he looked mystified. "I have no idea who you are," he stated. He looked down and noticed her necklace. "You must be from Slytherin! Your necklace is an S." He sounded triumphant.

Hermione had decided that she was going to keep her identity a mystery, for fear of this amazing young man leaving her if he knew who she really was. Hermione knew her reputation. "Maybe, maybe not," she said mischievously. He was now thoroughly confused.

"You, dear, are a mystery." He let go of her waist, grabbing her hand instead. She looked at him in wonder, but he just led her outside. The night was beautiful. The starts were out and the moon was shining brightly. He whipped his wand and summoned a large blanket, and put it on the ground. They lay under the stars, staring intently, and just enjoying the moment.

"The sky is so beautiful," Hermione breathed.

"As are you," he said, looking over at her. "I must say, the nicest stars in the skies are the ones that sparkle in your eyes" Hermione smiled and blushed as she looked away. This guy was most defiantly good with words. She felt a hand on her face, pulling her towards her mystery man. He looked deep into her eyes and ran his fingers along her cheek, then held her face in his hands. He pulled her towards him and their lips touched. Hermione felt electricity running all throughout her body. The boy slowly pulled away and Hermione's eyes fluttered open. He looked at her and smiled warmly.

The young man moved his hands up to her mask and began to slip his fingers under the straps, when Hermione stopped him. She shook her head. "Let's leave tonight the way it is, and not ruin it. Maybe somewhere, someday, you find out who I really am. But I'm not going to tell you. You will have to get to know the people around you better before you can know. But tell me, who are you?"

"Well, my dear, if I don't get to know who you are, then you don't get to know who I am," he replied. She nodded.

"Fair enough."

"I must go," he said. He kissed her hand and elegantly walked away. Hermione could still feel his kiss upon her lips as she touched her fingers to them. She watched him walk away in awe. Hermione felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around.

"Oh man, Hermione. You sure found someone, didn't you," Ginny said. Hermione nodded, her mind elsewhere.


	4. The Truth

The Truth

(A/N Well it really has been forever since I updated this story, sorry! Please read and review :))

Hermione walked up to her dormitory and collapsed onto her bed, exhausted from the day's events, quickly falling into a dream-possessed sleep.

_She was laying sprawled out upon the grass on the Grounds of Hogwarts, her hair flying in every direction. She was engrossed in her latest book and was oblivious to anything and everything around her. Suddenly there was a blunt pain in her side, and Hermione looked up to see none other than Draco Malfoy, leering down at her._ _"Mudblood, what in bloody hell are you doing down here?" His cold eyes pierced her and she was motionless, unable to escape the spell he cast over her. _

Hermione sat up in a cold sweat. _"Of course,"_ she breathed to herself. How could she be so blind? The same person that she had awoken to in the corridor only nights before was the same that had held her close. The grey, steely eyes she had seen the night before at the Masquerade belonged to Draco; they were unmistakable. She cursed herself for not comprehending something so obvious before. Hermione closed her eyes attempting to sleep again, but was not very successful. In the morning, she was quite groggy due to the late-night realization. The young witch forced herself out of bed and was off to find Ginny.

"No! There is no way that was him! I mean, he was so, _nice_!" The redheaded Weasly exclaimed when she was told the news about Draco.

"I know, but it's Malfoy, I'm more than sure he is accustomed to seducing unknown girls, and fakes being nice in order to get what he wants," Hermione retorted reasonably. Ginny took this into consideration, but was still shaking her head. Harry came up behind her and kissed her on the top of her head at the breakfast table.

"Who are we gossiping about this morning, girls?" he asked, sitting down to join them.

"Hermione kissed Draco!" Ginny squealed. Hermione gave her a death glare and blushed. She recounted the recent events while Harry listened with rapt attention. He simply chuckled after the story was over. Ever since the Dark Lord had been defeated, Malfoy had given Harry much less trouble, but still remained an arrogant prick.

Ironically enough, that day the Gryffindors had Potions with the Slytherins. Harry, Hermione, and Ron warily trudged down to the dungeon classroom. Professor Jennings looked particularly cheery that morning, and everyone was curious as to the reason behind her good mood. "Good morning students!" she said enthusiastically. They grumbled a lackluster response, and awaited instruction for the morning's lesson. Hermione was sitting next to Draco as the seating chart instructed, and felt quite awkward about this situation. He completely ignored her.

"Today we will be learning a most interesting potion. It goes by the name of Trueseios. This is quite similar to the Truth Serum, but the drinker of the solution has no memory of questions asked. Please retrieve your text books and turn to page 463 to read the background, ingredients, and instructions. Then you may begin, all supplies are at the front. Good luck!" The students buzzed with excitement. After looking up from her book, Hermione saw Draco Malfoy looking at her with malicious excitement in his eyes.

"_Oh no, this will be quite the day," _Hermione thought to herself, quite exasperated. She continued reading through the textbook.

_Background:_

_The Trueseios is a very powerful solution. The drinker of this potion will be completely honest, but with no memory whatsoever of things said or questions asked. Drinking a full serving of this solution will cause there to be a ten minute period of brutal honesty. Caution: If correct boiling time is not achieved, the drinker of the solution will remain honest and oblivious. This is irreversible. _

_Ingredients:_

_4 pickled toads_

_7 swallow's eggs_

_1 turnip_

_8 phoenix tears_

_2 human earlobes_

_2 cups of pondwater_

_Instructions:_

_Step 1:Fill cauldron with pondwater and bring to a boil._

_Step 2: Extract the insides from the swallow's eggs, these will not be needed. Crush the shells into a powder and add to the boiling pondwater. Let sit for five minutes._

_Step 3: Add the pickled toads and stir until frothy. _

_Step 4: Mix in one earlobe, then the phoenix tears, and then the second earlobe, stirring consistently._

_Step 5:Finally, add in the remaining turnip. Let sit for fifteen minutes, stir, then the potion is complete._

"I forgot to mention," interrupted the professor, "that you will each take half of the antidote, in order to be honest for only five minutes. If you do not feel as if you completed the potion correctly, do not, I repeat do not, drink the potion. Doing so could be damaging. Very well!"

Hermione proceeded to obtain the ingredients and began working with Draco to create the serum. After completing the task rather effortlessly, the two set out to decide who would drink the potion first. It was decided that Malfoy would do the honors. He chugged the contents of one of the two vials. Quite suddenly, Draco's eyes glazed over. Hermione decided this was her cue to begin the five minutes of questioning.

"Hmm where shall I begin? Why are you so rude to Harry?"

"I am envious of his fame," he responded in a monotonous tone, staring at Hermione as if he did not see her and was simply looking through glass.

"_Well that has been obvious for years. Now for something more interesting…" _Hermione thought to herself.

"What did you think of the girl you danced with and kissed last night?"

"I thought she was beautiful and charming, and very much wish I knew who she was." Hermione smiled and a blush crept upon her cheeks. Her daze was interrupted, however, by a loud explosion that came from Neville Longbottom's cauldron. He was lying on the ground muttering to himself about how he felt about the temperature of the classroom, his classmates, and everything else under the sun.

"Oh dear," said Professor Jennings as she strode over to deal with the problem. She had one of the other students escort him to the Hospital Wing to see if the damage could be reversed. With all the commotion, time had been wasted and Hermione fervently tried to make up lost time.

"What would you think if the girl you had been with last night was me?"

"I would be curious to see how things would play out, and if I would ever be able to make you have feelings for me," Draco said, completely unphased by anything going on around him.

"Does being so rude get old?" His eyes focused and he shook his head, looking around with a slightly dazed expression upon his face.

"Well now that that's over, it's your turn Granger," he said impolitely.

"_Apparently it doesn't get old," _Hermione thought to herself, shaking her head. She picked up the second vial and quickly drank it. It tasted disgusting and she made a face. Her whole body went numb and eyes glazed over as Draco's had moments before.

"Are you and Weasly secretly dating?" he mocked her.

"No, we are not dating," she replied in the same monotone voice Draco had conversed in earlier.

"Did you have a very lonely time at the ball last night?"

"No, I met a lovely young mystery man. We danced and went outside and laid under the stars. It was magical."

"No. There is no way. That could _not_ have been you..." he breathed, panic-stricken. He had no idea what to do. "Do you know who he was?"

"It was you of course," she responded. With that, Draco stormed out of the dungeon classroom and headed straight for the Slytherin dormitory. He paced back and forth through the common room, not knowing what to do. Meanwhile, back in the Potions classroom, Hermione was coming out of her stupor. She looked around and Draco was nowhere in sight.

"Please bring your cauldrons to the front and empty them into the safety sinks," Professor Jennings said, gesturing to the front of the room. The students gathered all their equipment and cleaned up. Soon the lesson was over and the students were all filing out of the dungeons. Hermione was quite confused about where her partner had gone, and what he had asked her. At lunch, she found Ginny and proceeded to account everything that had happened, what she remembered at least.

"What I still don't understand," Ginny said, "is why he left in the middle of class. It's not like you were able to remember anything he asked, so it shouldn't have been a problem."

"I know! It is ridiculous how kind and sweet he was last night, but the second he is talking to me face to face, he turns into a monster." Then it suddenly dawned on her. "He knows it was me last night. He must have asked me something and figured out that it was me he danced with."

"That would explain why he rushed out of the classroom. He was so shocked it was you," Ginny added. Hermione continued to mull this over while she ate. After a while she decided to visit Neville in the Infirmary to see how he was doing. On her way there, she saw Draco coming down the corridor. She opened her mouth to talk to him, but he looked past her and continued walking, as if he did not see her at all.

"_He is just a stupid git after all, last night was nothing," _she thought angrily to herself. She entered the Hospital Wing to see Neville lying in a bed, still muttering to himself.

"How are you feeling Neville?"

"WellI'mdoingalrightnowthatyou'rehere. YouaresobeautifulHermione, Ihavelovedyousinceourfirstyearhere. I'msorryIprobablyshouldn'tbetellingyouthisbutIcan'thelpmyself," he blabbered quickly. Just then, Madam Pomfrey bustled in carrying a bottle filled with fire-red liquid and a spoon. She filled the spoon and told him to open his mouth. He did as he was instructed to and immediately stopped talking.

"This will help him monitor what he says, but as the properties of the potion you were making said, he will be honest from now on!" she informed Hermione, shaking her head with pity.

"Poor Neville, bad things are always happening to you," Hermione said empathetically. She sat and talked to him for a while before retiring to the Gryffindor Common Room to start her homework. The remainder of the evening was uneventful and around eleven she returned to her room and was alone with her thoughts. She wondered about what would happen with Draco, if anything, and whether she wanted something. She slowly drifted off into a calm sleep.


End file.
